The Sa Generals and the Rise of Nazism: (History Book Club Alternate Selection S)

No part of the Nazi movement contributed more to Hitler's success than the Sturmabteilung (SA) -- the notorious Brown Shirts. Bruce Campbell offers the first in-depth study in English of the men who held the three highest ranks in the SA. Organized on military lines and fired by radical nationalism, the Brown Shirts saw themselves as Germany's paramilitary saviors. Campbell reveals that the homogeneity of the SA leadership was based not on class or status, but on common experiences and training. Unlike other investigations of the Nazi party, The SA Generals and the Rise of Nazism focuses on the military and political activities of the Brown Shirts to show how they developed into SA Leaders. By tracing the activities, both individual and collective, of these men's adult lives through 1945, Campbell shows where members acquired the experience necessary to build, lead, and administer the SA. These men were instrumental in creating the Nazi concept of "political soldiering," combining military organization with political activism. Campbell's enlightening portrait of the SA, its history, and its relationship to the overall Nazi movement reveals how the organization's leaders reshaped the SA over time to adapt to Germany's changing political concerns.

About the Author :
Bruce Campbell is an independent scholar and visiting professor of history at Old Dominion University.

Review :
"A captivating and thought-provoking individual and collective portrait of the top leadership of the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party." -- WWII History "Among the growing number of efforts to know the men who formed the Nazi Movement, Bruce Campbell has produced one of the better." -- George C. Browder "Author Bruce Campbell offers the first in-depth study in English of men who held the three highest ranks in the SA -- men who saw themselves as Germany's paramilitary saviors." -- Library Lane "Based on archival research, Campbell's book offers an unusual insight into the lives and careers of the founding fathers of the SA." -- Choice "By examining the backgrounds of the SA s top leadership between 1925-33, the author shows the changing nature of the SA and its process of growth within the broader rightist movement of the Weimar Republic." -- Don McKale "Campbell's enlightening portrait of the SA, its history, and its relationship to the overall Nazi movement reveals how the organization's leaders reshaped the SA over time to adapt of Germany's changing political concern." -- Bulletin of the Arnold and Leona Institute of Holocaust Research "Full of useful looks at some of the lesser known Nazi leaders, and provides some valuable insights into some obscurer corners of the history of the Nazi movement." -- New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter "Provides interesting material, especially about the upper echelons of the SA leadership as a whole." -- Central European History